Hand luggage case



Feb. 20, 1934. G. H WHEARY 1,947,542

HAND LUGGAGE CASE Filed July 8, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l e0 550F475 fi my M55527 Feb. 20, 1934. G- WHEARY 1,947,542

HAND LUGGAGE CASE Filed July 8, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 550F475 Henry M55527 Feb. 20, 1934. G. H. WHEARY HAND LUGGAGE CASE Filed July 8, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 v .U/ Wm 5 Z Patented Feb. 20, 1934 HAND LUGGAGE CASE George Henry Wheary, Racine, Wis., assignor to The Wheary Trunk Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 8, 1932. Serial No. 621,325

13 Claims.

7 ing hand carrying cases of the character described, in view, this invention has as one of its objects to provide novel means for carrying at least three complete suits in such a manner that all of the garments hang from a horizontal support when the case is in its normal carrying position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment receiving unit for hand carrying cases, which is so constructed as to afford two garment receiving chambers or spaces of varying depth to correspond. to the different thicknesses of garments and particularly men's suits, draped upon garment hangers disposed in one of the spaces or chambers.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a garment carrying means which is a unit itself independent of the case, and in which the garments are draped over the upper edge of rigid inclined partition wall to hang on both sides of the wall.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a novel extensible hanger support, from which all of the hangers carried thereby are simultaneously removable, and which by reason of its extensibility affords additional space for the garments draped on the hangers when desired.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrate" two complete examples of the physical embodiment oi my invention constructed according to the best modes I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View with parts broken away and in section illustrating a hand luggage case embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional View taken through Fig. 1, on the plane of the line 22;

Figure 3 is a cross section view through the garment carrying unit per se, said view being in perspective;

Figure 4 is a front plan view of the garment carrying unit detached from the carrying case and illustrating the manner in which garments are received therein;

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view illustrating the novel hanger retaining means; i

Figure 6 is a section View taken through Fig. 5 on the plane of the line 6-6; and

Figure '7 is a perspective view illustrating a slightly modified embodiment of the hanger retaining means.

Referring now more particularly to the ac companying drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the numerals r and 5 represent the main sec tion and the cover section, respectively, of the case. These sections are hingedly connected as at 6. As is customary, a handle '1, and latch. means 8 to secure the cover closed, are provided opposite the hinged connection.

The interior of the main section 4 is divided by a partition 9 into two major compartments 10 and 11. The partition 9 is parallel to the end walls 12 and 13 of the main section, and is of substantially the same height. A cover 14, hingedly connected with the upper edge of the partition, serves to close the compartment 11, which afiords a convenient receptacle for shoes and other articles.

Mounted within novel garment carrying unit generally designated 15. This garment carrying unit comprises two spaced side walls 16- of substantially the length of the end walls 12 and 13, and of a height to extend the cover section, when 7 a few inches from the wall 18 of the main section. The space left between the garment carrying unit and the wall 18 may be divided by a partition 19 into two shirt compartments.

The side walls 16 of the garment receiving unit have their ends adjacent the hinge connection 6 connected by a wall 20, so that the sides the compartment 9 is the of this invention,

16, together with the wall 20, form three sides from the wall 17 of I closed, to a point spaced f Bil of a rectangular frame. The fourth side is left open.

Connecting the side walls 16 is a partition wall 21. This partition wall 21 is rigidly secured to the side walls 16 and is preferably attached to the wall 20. The edge 22 of the partition wall 21 opposite the wall 20 terminates short of the adjacent ends of the side walls and is enlarged and rounded to preclude creasing of garments folded thereover, as will be later described. The rounded edge 22 may be provided in any desired manner, as by attaching a strip of substantially round molding directly to the partition wall.

It is observed that the partition wall 21 is inclined with respect to the planes within which the opposite side edges of the side walls 16 lie, and with respect to the walls 17 and 18 of the cover and main section, respectively. Consequently, the two spaces or chambers afforded at opposite sides of the partition 21, are of varying depth, with the deep end of the uppermost space, when the case is in its normal open position as illustrated in Fig. 1, adjacent the hinge connection 6.

Mounted within this deep end of the space just defined, is a plurality of garment hangers 23. The hangers 23 are of conventional construction with shoulder receiving portions 24 and upper transverse bars 25, the ends of which are adapted for engagement with hanger retainers indicated generally by the numeral 26. These hanger retainers are of novel construction and for purpose to be later described, are extensible to increase their hanger receiving space.

As best illustrated in Fig. 5, the hanger retainers each comprise a stationary section 27 and a movable section 28, slidably connected. Both sections are preferably stamped of bendable metal and have hanger receiving channels 29 and 29', respectively. The stationary section 27 has an attaching flange 30 extended laterally from its lower end to be riveted or otherwise secured as at 31, to the partition wall 21.

It is observed that the attaching flange 30 is disposed at the proper inclination with respect to the vertical axis of the retaining member, to accommodate the inclination of the wall 21 and insure the retainer being disposed vertically when the case is open as illustrated in 1.

The stationary and movable sections 27 and 28 are slidably engaged with each other with the channel 29 of the section 2'7 received in the channel 29' of the section 28. Outwardly directed flanges 32 are formed on the edges of the section 2'7 and similarly formed flanges 33 are extended from the side edges of the section 28. The lower ends of the flanges 33 formed on the movable section 28 have tongues 34 to overlie the flanges 32 and hold the sections in proper assembled relationship.

Separation of the sections is precluded by abutments 35 on the flanges 32, which lie in the path of the bent over tongues 34.

A spring finger 36 having a detent 37 is struck from the bottom wall of the channel 29' and when the sections are in their fully engaged positions, illustrated in Fig. 6, the detent 37 is disposed in an opening 38 in the bottom wall of the channel 29. When the movable section is fully extended, the detent engages in an opening 39.

As stated, the ends of the transverse bars 25 of the hangers are adapted to be engaged in the channels 29 and 29' of the retaining members, and to hold the hangers against displacemerit, the open ends of the channels are closed by a cross bar 40. This cross bar 40 has a hook 41 at one end to engage in a slot 42 formed in the outer end portion of the channel 29', and at its other end has a spring hook 41' engageable in a similar slot 42 in the other retaining member. The action of the spring hook ll serves to maintain the bar 10 assembled with the retainers and requires the exertion of longitudinal force to effect detachment of the bar.

The manner in which the garments are draped on the hangers is depicted in Fig. 4. The coats and vests are draped over the shoulder receiving portions 24 of the hangers in the usual manner and the trousers are draped over the top of the bar 25 at about the hips so that the portions of greatest thickness of the trousers lie substantially above the'shoulders of the coat. In this manner, maximum economy of space is obtained.

The ends of the trousers legs hang down over the front of the coat as illustrated in Fig. 4, and extend throughout the entire length of the coat. In this position, the rounded edge 22 of the partition wall 21 is substantially in line with the elbows oi the sleeves and at the central portion of the coat. The portions of the garments beneath the edge 22 are brought around the edge 22 to overlie the undersuriace oi the partition wall 21 where they are held by a retaining board 43.

The retaining board 43 is entirely removable from the garment receiving unit or tray and is detachably held in position by having one edge engaged behind a flange a l extended from the wall 20 and by latch members 45 carried by the opposite outer corners of the board and each engageable in one of a number of openings 46 formed in a keeper plate 47 secured to the adjacent side wall 16. By providing a number oi openings as, a range of adjustment is afforded which permits the board 43 to be secured in a position to hold the lower end por tions of vthe garments against the partition wall 21, regardless of the number of suits being carried.

With the garments mounted in the carrying unit stated, it is observed that all of the suits are supported from the rounded edge 22 of the partition which is uppermost during the normal carrying position or" the case. In other words, the garments hang normally across the edge 22 and tendency toward sidewise shifting is thus entirely obviated. Also, by position ing the garment carrying unit in the case in this manner, it is possible to construct the unit with suiilcient width to accommodate mens suits without crushing.

Another advantage arising from the described construction of the garment carrying unit is that by disposing the partition wall 21 at an inclination, the garment receiving spaces or chambers at its opposite sides are of varying depth to correspond to the varying thicknesses of the suits disposed therein. Consequently three complete suits may be packed without in any wise cru ng any of the garments or without necessitating the application of 6XC6S- sive pressure thereon.

The garment receiving unit may be mounted in the compartment of the carrying case in any desired manner, but is preferably hinged therein to swing about an parallel to and adjacent the hinged connection. For this purpose, a pair of supporting arms 48 are pivotally connected with the side walls 16 with their pivotal connections in axial alignment and located adjacent the wall 20 and near the upper edge of the side walls 16. The free ends of the supporting arms 48 are in retaining pockets 49, one secured to the end wall 12 of the main section and the other to the partition 9.

The arms 48 are removable from the pockets 49 so that the entire garment carrying unit may be removed from the case. When so removed, the entire unit may be hung from a suitable support by means of a hook 50 connected to the wall 20 in such a manner as to permit the same to be folded down fiat against the wall 20.

By permitting the unit to be supported in this manner, the necessity for removing the garments therefrom is obviated, for by removing the retaining board 43 and withdrawing the extension sections of the retainers 26, the garments may hang with complete freedom.

Any suitable means may be provided for supporting the outer free end of the hinged unit when in the case, and in the present instance, the end wall 12 of the main section and the partition 9 have shoulders or abutments 51 afforded by strips 52 secured to the wall 12 and the partition.

The strips 52 are substantially the same height as the partition 19 so that the shirt compartments between the garment carrying unit and'the wall 18, are undisturbed by the disposition of the garment carrying unit thereabove. Also, it is observed that the retaining board 43 precludes the possibility of packing the shirt compartments to such an extent that objects thereinproject upwardly against the suits.

Figure 7 illustrates a slightly modified embodiment of the novel hanger retaining member of this invention and shows the application thereof to carrying cases which are preferably designed for ladies garments.

The garment carrying unit in Fig. 7, embodies side arms 53 hingedly mounted as at 54 and having an outer garment receiving bar 55 connecting the outer free ends thereof. At a point adjacent the hinged connection of the side arms, the novel hanger retaining members are attached. As in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6 and described hereinbefore, the retaining member shown in Fig. 7, also embodies a stationary. section 27 and a movable section 28. Each section has a hanger receiving channel and the two are maintained assembled in the same manner as defined in connection with the retainer shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The lateral attaching flange 30, however, is omitted and the lower end portion of the stationary section 27 is directly riveted to the side 1 arm 53. The same rivets which secure the section 2'7 to the side arms also secure an angle plate stop member 56 to the lower portion of the stationary section upon which the hangers rest as will be readily apparent.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the. accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which this .invention appertains, that this invention affords a novel garment carrying unit or tray which makes it possible to conveniently carry three complete suits in a case of conventional dimensions in such a manner that the garments hang over a horizontal support during the normal carrying position of the case to avoid any tendency toward sidewise shifting;

that by the provision of the novel hanger re-- taining members, engagement and disengage ment of the hangers therewith is greatly facilitated and additional space is afforded for the garments when the carrying unit is removedfrom the case.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a hand luggage case of the character described, hingedly connected sections, means to carry the case with the hinged connection between its sections at the bottom, a garment receiving unit hingedly mounted within the case for movement about an axis parallel to and adjacent the hinged connection between the sections, said unit comprising a flat wall extending from the bottom toward the top of the case and inclined with respect to the sides or the case when in its normal carrying position to define garment receiving chambers of unequal depth at opposite sides of the flat wall, hanger retainer means in the deep end portion of one of the chambers adjacent the hingedly connected walls of the case sections, hangers mounted thereon and adapted to support garments which extend across the fiat wall and are folded over the edge of the flat wall which is uppermost when the case is in carrying position, and retaining means to hold the folded over end portions of the garments against the flat wall.

2. In a hand luggage case including hingedly connected sections and means to carry the case with the hinged connection between the sections at the bottom, a partition wall adapted to be held in a fixed position with respect to the case when the sections are in closed position with its upper edge spaced from the adjacent wall of the case, said partition dividing the interior of the case into two chambers one having a deep end and the other a shallow end adjacent the hinged connection between the sections, and garment hangers in said deep end of said first mentioned chamber to receive garments which extend across the upper edge of the partition -wall to fold thereover and hang down into said,

shallow end of said second mentioned chamber whereby the garments are supported from said upper edge of the partition wall when the case is in its normal carrying position.

3. In a hand luggage case including hingedly connected sections and means to carry the casewith the hinged connection between the sections at the bottom, a partition wall adapted to I be held in a fixed position with respect to the case when the sections are in closed position with its upper edge spaced from the adjacent wall of the case, said partition dividing the interior of the case into two chambers, one having a deep end and the other a shallow end adjacent the hinged connection between the sections, garment hangers in said deep end of said first mentioned chamber to receive garments which extend across the upper edge of the partition wall to fold thereover and hang down into said shallow end of said second mentioned chamber, whereby the garments are supported from said upper edge of the partition wall when the case is in its normal carrying position, and means to hold the folded over end portions of the garments against the flat partition wall.

4. In a hand luggage case including hingedly connected sections and means to carry the case with the hinged connection between the sections at the bottom, a partition wall, means hingedly mounting the partition wall for movement about I an axis adjacent to and parallel with the hinged connection between the sections, means to retain the partition wall in an inclined position with respect to the side walls of the case sections when in normal carrying position and with the upper edge of the partition spaced from the adjacent wall of the case, said partition wall dividing the interior of the case into two chambers, one having a deep end and the other a shallow end adjacent the hinged connection between the sections, and garment hangers in said deep end of said first mentioned chamber to receive garments which extend across the upper edge of the partition wall to fold thereover and hang down into said shallow end of said second mentioned chamber, whereby the garments are supported from said upper edge of the partition wall when the case is in its normal carrying position.

5. In a hand luggage case including hingedly connected sections and means to carry the case with the hinged connection between the sections at the bottom, a partition wall adapted to be held in a fixed position with respect to the case when the sections are in closed position with its upper edge spaced from the adjacent wall of the case, said partition dividing the interior of the case into two chambers, one having a deep end and the other a shallow end adjacent the hinged connection between the sections, hanger retaining members disposed in said deep end of said first mentioned chamber, and garment hangers detachably held by said retainers and adapted to have garments draped thereover to extend across the partition wall and fold over the upper edge thereof to hang down into said shallow end of said second mentioned chamber.

6. In a hand luggage case, a garment receiving unit comprising spaced side walls, a partition wall rigidly connecting the side walls medially of their side edges and disposed in a plane inclined with respect to said edges or" the side walls to divide the space between the side walls into two spaced chambers, the inclination of the par tition wall giving each chamber a deep end and a shallow end, and garment receiving means mounted in the deep end of one chamber so that garments draped thereover may extend across the partition wall to be folded thereover and lie across the opposite side of the partition wall within the other chamber with their ends disposed in the shallow end of said other chamher.

7. In a hand luggage case of the character described, a garment carrying unit comprising spaced parallel sides, a partition wall rigidly connecting the sides medially of their side edges and forming two separated chambers, hanger retainer means within one chamber adjacent one edge of the partition wall, a plurality of garment hangers mounted on said retainers and adapted to have garments draped thereon to extend outwardly over the partition wall to be folded over the other edge of the wall and extend over the partition within the other charm her, and means carried by the sides to confine the end portions of the garments extended over the partition wall within said other chamber against the partition wall.

8. In a hand luggage case of the character described, a garment carrying unit comprising side and end walls, a fixed partition connecting the walls medially of their side edges and inclined with respect to the side edges of the side walls to divide the space defined by the side and end walls into two garment receiving chambers each having a deep end and a shallow end with the deep ends of the chambers diagonally opposite, garment receiving means mounted in the deep end adjacent the end wall to receive garments which extend across the partition and are folded over the edge of the partition opposite the end wall to lie over the opposite side of the partition within the other chamber and extend into the 'iallow end of said other chamber.

9. In a hand luggage case of the character described, a garment carrying unit comprising'side and end walls, a fixed partition connecting the walls medially of their side edges and inclined with respect to the side edges of the side walls to divide the space defined by the side and end walls into two garment receiving chambers each having a deep end and ashallow end with the deep ends of the chambers diagonally opposite, garment receiving means mounted in the deep end adjacent the end wall to receive garments which extend across the partition and are folded over the edge of the partition opposite the end Wall to lie over the opposite side of the partition within the other chamber and extending 10d into the shallow end of said other chamber, and means within the other chamber to hold the portions of the garments disposed therein flat against the partition.

10. In a hand luggage case of the character described, a garment carrying unit comprising spaced side walls connected by an end wall to form substantially a U shaped frame, a partition mounted in the space defined by the U shaped frame and occupying a plane inclined with respect to the side edges of the side walls, said partition dividing the space defined by the U shaped frame into communicating garment receiving chambers of varying depths with one chamber provided with a deep end adjacent the end wall and the other a shallow end adjacent the end wall, hanger means supported in the deep end of said first mentioned chamber to receive garments which extend outwardly across the partition and are folded over the edge of the partition remote from the end wall to lie across the opposite side of the partition within the other chamber and with the endportions thereof received in the said shallow end of said other chamber, and means to retain said end portions of the garments against the partition.

11. In a hand luggage case of the character described, hingedly connected complementary sections, means to carry the case with the hinged connection between the sections at the bottom, a garment carrying unit within the case, said garment carrying unit comprising spaced side walls, an end wall, a partition connected with the walls and occupying a plane inclined with respect to the side edges of the side walls, said partition dividing the space defined by the side and end walls into two garment receiving chambers of varying depth, one chamber having its deep end adjacent the end wall and the other chamber having its shallow end adjacent the end wall, garment hanger means within the deep end of said first mentioned chamber to receive garments which extend across the partition to the edge thereof remote from the end wall and are folded about said edge of the partition so that the end portions of the garments extend into the other chamber and terminate in the shallow end of said other chamber, and means hingedly mounting said garment carrying unit within one of the case sections with the end wall of the unit adjacent the hinged connection of the sections whereby the garments are supported from the edge of the partition over which they are folded when the case is in its normal carrying position.

12. In a device of the character described, a garment hanger retainer comprising, a fixed channel section adapted to receive therein one end of a garment hanger, a movable channel section slidably comiected with the fixed channel section for extension therebeyond to form a continuation of the hanger retaining channel, and means carried by the fixed channel section and the movable channel section to afiord abutments by which the hanger ends are confined in the channel.

GEORGE HENRY WHEARY. 

